Xavier brushed away the tip of the vine that was wantonly rubbing against his palm, and instead gently wiped away the lingering warmth on his temple where Kane had touched him just before.
His brows were slightly furrowed, and his tone carried a trace of annoyance as he complained in a low voice, “You broke the rule again.”
“Rule number two, unauthorized touching of you is not allowed. I remember.”
Xavier: ……
He remembers, but doesn’t follow—is that what this means?
Xavier was momentarily speechless, feeling a sense of exhaustion from repeated, unheeded emphases. However, his peaceful sleep last night had calmed his mood considerably, and the aggressiveness that readily flared up against others in his weakened state had also faded by more than half.
Seeing him still looking listless and lacking spirit, Kane asked him, “Do you want to rest more?”
“No. What time is it now?”
As his voice fell, the floor-to-ceiling curtains of the reception hall slowly pulled apart to both sides. Reflected in his view was the night scene of Floris City [ChIJrdbSgKZWKhMRAyrH7xd51ZM], where gorgeous, colorful air traffic lanes and brilliantly lit skyscrapers intertwined, kicking off yet another round of raucous revelry.
And they were standing on the very top floor of Floris, looking down condescendingly at it all.
“You slept for a whole day,” Kane said, nearly talking to himself. “I didn’t expect that you would need sleep either.”
“A longevity species isn’t a perpetual motion machine; of course they need rest.”
Xavier gave a light yawn, his pale golden pupils covered by a layer of hazy moisture. As the drowsiness dissipated, his consciousness gradually cleared.
“I was sleeping perfectly fine, why did you put me in your coat pocket?”
“If I had left you outside, probably no one would be able to speak properly.”
Thinking of the astonishment Valeri had directed at Xavier just moments ago, Kane tightened his brow with a trace of displeasure.
Xavier also recalled that man’s shifting expression, and combining it with the reactions of others he had encountered recently, he simply felt that humans in the interstellar era always seemed prone to panic.
Their gazes always cautiously glanced at Kane for a fraction of a second, before swiftly shifting over to himself, and then quickly being forced away. In that fleeting eye contact, it was full of bewilderment and shock.
He really couldn’t understand what these people were finding so surprising.
With a flat tone, he evaluated them: “Ignorant humans.”
Kane let out a couple of low chuckles, the deep and slow laughter spilling from his throat and bringing a slight vibration to his chest.
Xavier subconsciously pulled back the hand resting on Kane’s shoulder, and immediately heard the man ask, “Happy?”
Xavier was startled.
This was the second time Kane had asked him a question requiring a subjective emotional response, which inexplicably reminded Xavier of those paranoid alchemy-obsessed researchers from the Middle Ages.
Those people often regarded their alchemical creations as unique possessions, treating them almost like kin and endowing them with special soul significance.
Looking at it this way, compared to Gu Shen, the engineer of the Blood Blade, Kane seemed much more like an animist.
However, Xavier didn’t care whether he was viewed as an intelligent entity or a life form in the eyes of others in the interstellar era; he only felt that Kane was being relatively sensible.
“I’m satisfied, Your Excellency the Bandit. Your foresight is worthy of my recognition.”
If Kane could maintain this cooperative attitude all along and honestly seek out magic ores for him, then Xavier would naturally, as the other party desired, use spiritual resonance to smooth out the turmoil deep within his spiritual sea and grant him a moment of tranquility.
His Highness the Prince sat on Kane’s shoulder, slightly lowering his head and executing a greeting commonly used among nobility to express his approval of Kane.
His posture was calm and elegant, his light-colored long eyelashes drooping to gently cover his golden pupils.
Though it was a rare gesture of lowering his head, it lacked the slightest hint of humbleness or awkwardness, instead fully displaying an innate aristocratic bearing.
Even though he was only draped in a dark-colored long robe roughly cut by Kane with a plain style, his posture remained noble and pleasing to the eye.
Kane’s gaze first landed on Xavier’s exquisite and breathtaking face, then shifted downward to look at the crude and thin robe on his body.
Against the contrast of the two, a strong sense of incongruity arose spontaneously.
His gaze darkened slightly, and he said in a slow voice, “Let’s go, I’ll take you out to pick out a few well-fitting and proper clothes.”
At the mention of this, Xavier grew interested. He couldn’t wait to lift his small legs, showing his bare feet to Kane, and emphasized specially: “Shoes and socks are a must too.”
Kane had already stood up, casting a sideways glance at the sound.
Slender and delicate calves and feet came into view, their skin exceptionally eye-catching in its whiteness. His gaze lingered there for two extra seconds involuntarily before he replied, “Alright, shoes and socks too.”
As he stepped forward, he dialed Griffin’s communicator.
The next second, Griffin’s resolute projection appeared before them.
Xavier curiously tilted his head, sizing her up with keen interest. Just as their eyes met, he took the initiative to ask, “Griffin, is my sleeping robe with you?”
The female warrior’s gaze first fell on Kane, and upon receiving his slight nod of confirmation, she replied, “Yes, it’s right on the Blood Blade.”
Xavier set his mind at ease, “Fetch it for me when we get back.”
Griffin nodded in acknowledgment and looked at Kane again.
Only then did Kane speak, “Where did you buy those little clothes from before?”
Kane knew that Griffin had some harmless little hobbies and often collected clothes for small dolls. The champagne-colored set previously given to Xavier was contributed by Griffin. Coupled with the fact that she had stayed on RX-2 for a very long time, she was most familiar with this area and would likely know the shops here.
“In the central area of the Second District, there’s a shop called Alice’s Cotton Candy Dollhouse.”
The audio quality transmitted through the communication was slightly distorted, but upon hearing this utterly cute shop name, both Kane and Xavier on his shoulder fell into a brief, simultaneous silence.
“Hold on, Boss.” Griffin operated something on her end before continuing, “The location has been sent over.”
With a calm expression, looking at Xavier’s exquisite and pretty appearance, she didn’t feel there was anything inappropriate about this at all.
Had Kane not taken Xavier away early, she even planned to pull out her entire collection of doll clothes from her closet and offer them for Xavier to choose from.
Looking at the soft and cute shop name on the projection, along with the detailed address attached below, Kane felt an inexplicable wave of bewilderment in his heart.
The “Star-Skeleton Tyrant,” traditionally renowned for his iron-fisted ruthlessness, was accustomed to a decisive and bloody style of action. Throughout his long years of campaigning, he had never felt a moment of hesitation, yet for the first time, he couldn’t help quietly asking himself what on earth he was doing.
“What are you spacing out for?” Xavier suddenly spoke up to urge him, interrupting his trance.
Kane closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his grey-blue eyes had already shed all chaotic emotions, returning to a calm and indifferent state. He placidly instructed Griffin on the other end: “You come over too.”
Griffin immediately responded, “Yes, Boss.”
Kane hung up the communicator and instructed the smart assistant in the room to retrieve biological masks.
Xavier watched him unpack one and apply that thin-as-cicada-wings, nearly translucent mask over his face.
Within seconds, his appearance quietly altered.
He widened his eyes slightly in surprise, looking closely. He saw that Kane’s originally sharp-contoured features and deep, three-dimensional face were slightly softened, and the oppressive aura around him faded a great deal, transforming into a gentle, crisp, and handsome appearance.
The features weren’t drastically changed, but his entire temperament was completely different, making it impossible for anyone to recognize his true identity at a glance.
“Why didn’t you use this yesterday?”
“There are only a few stored here; I rarely need to deliberately conceal my traces. The few times I did, they were all because of you.”
“Just to buy clothes, is it necessary to go to such great lengths to hide your tracks?”
Xavier’s tone carried casual indifference, but he was suddenly confronted with Kane’s communicator shoved right in front of his face, his gaze hooked by the shop name on the projection accompanied by cute emoticons.
Seeing this, he felt not a shred of guilt; instead, the corners of his lips curled up, exposing his sly little fangs as he mentally pictured what Kane must look like seriously picking out items in this cute-themed little shop.
He let out a wicked, low chuckle, implying with his words: “Cotton Candy Dollhouse—so it turns out this city isn’t just about weapons and contraband.”
On Kane’s face, softened by the mask, an unusual, almost eerie gentleness slowly bloomed into a smile.
He slowly replied, a profound undertone to his voice: “Indeed, it’s different. I suppose there should be plenty of pretty little dresses in the shop; you can look forward to it.”
“Rest assured, this Prince can pull off any style.” Xavier flicked the dark robe on his body with utter nonchalance, completely omitting his own similar silence upon hearing the shop name just moments earlier,
“Unlike you, with a status like yours, you’d actually worry about being caught going shopping at a cute little store.”
“Consider that a compliment.” Kane didn’t get angry at all, his voice flat, “I’m doing this for your own good. The moment anyone notices such a little fellow appearing by my side, countless similar intelligent entities will soon be sent right to the Blood Blade’s doorstep. You wouldn’t want a bunch of irrelevant ‘friends’ crowding around you either, would you?”
Xavier raised his chin slightly, his tone noble and certain: “Those mortal things, how could they possibly be compared to me?”
“I can only tolerate one with a personality like yours.”
Kane switched his communication channel to do-not-disturb mode, ignoring Xavier’s incoming stream of questions as he led him out the door.
Following the location sent by Griffin, the two quickly found “Alice’s Cotton Candy Dollhouse,” a shop quite contrasting with the overall style of Floris City.
Sure enough, the entire shop was filled with soft and cute decorations, with delicate lace trimming the doorway, and a sweet, cloying atmosphere hitting them in the face.
Looking at the small and exquisite storefront, Kane even doubted he would bump his head entering. Even Xavier’s expression suddenly froze.
“Boss?”
Griffin’s voice came from inside.
Kane raised a hand to rub the edge of the biological mask, turned to look at the shifting gaze of Xavier on his shoulder, a hint of playful amusement flashing in the depths of his eyes, and then stepped forward, walking straight into the store.
The interior space was not particularly small; the overall decor was minimalist and soft, and the hanging clothes looked clean and tidy, lacking the strong shock brought by the sweet and delicate storefront outside.
Xavier breathed a slight sigh of relief, surveying his surroundings. His gaze happened to collide with the small stature of the shopkeeper behind the counter.
Upon seeing him, the girl wearing a cake dress lit up instantly, excitedly grabbing Griffin’s hand, “Wow! Griffin, is this the intelligent entity you mentioned was coming to buy clothes? So cute!!! Where did this little doll come from, what’s its name? Is there a link?”
“No!” Griffin was flustered for once, “It’s not my doll, this belongs to our Boss.”
Only then did Alice come to her senses, turning her gaze to Kane on the side with an apologetic smile: “Sorry, customer, I was too excited just now. It’s just that your doll is too exquisite and good-looking!”
Xavier helplessly looked up at the ceiling, speaking up before Kane could, with a composed and picky tone: “Help me match a few sets of well-fitting clothes. The styles should be simple and generous, with priority given to superior fabrics and textures to eliminate any cheap feel, and prepare a few sets of matching shoes and socks as well.”
Hearing his clear-cut, proactive demands, Alice’s cheeks flushed with excitement, and she immediately responded, “Alright, I’ll pick them out for you right away.”
Kane watched the whole process, quietly observing Xavier’s high vigilance as he stared at every single move of the shopkeeper picking out clothes, making it glaringly obvious that he was terrified she would head toward the pink, sweet-styled sections.
He laughed inwardly; true to form, this little fellow was always hard-mouthed, having just declared with absolute certainty that he could pull off any style.
Alice was quick-handed and nimble, soon fetching several stacks of clothes and shoes/socks. After thoroughly cleaning them all with an instant dry-cleaning device, she neatly presented them before the two.
Xavier’s gaze swept carefully over every piece of clothing, and confirming they were appropriate and correct, he gave a faint nod: “Take me to the fitting room.”
Alice was stunned, reacting a moment later: “I’ll go get it right away!”
Before long, she carried out from the back a small cabinet box exquisitely carved with lace and colored crystal bead decorations.
Calling it a fitting room, it was actually more like an exquisite storage box, its size adorably small—though just right for Alice’s “guests.”
Naturally, given the special nature of past guests, this was the first time the small fitting room was being put into use, and as Alice carried it out, she secretly rejoiced in her own sense of ceremonial design during decoration.
Seeing that the fitting room shared the exact same style as the dollhouse’s storefront, Xavier sighed internally, though he remained outwardly calm as he patted the surface beneath him to signal Kane.
Watching his feigned composure, Kane didn’t call him out, instead bending down to gently set Xavier down.
Alice hurriedly placed the selected clothes into the small fitting room. Xavier stepped directly into the compartment, which resembled an exquisite display stand, and the curtains slowly drifted down behind him.
Grey-blue eyes stared unblinkingly at Xavier’s retreating back.
Just the split second before that tiny figure was thoroughly and tightly concealed, a wisp of vine-like black spiritual tentacle shot out swiftly, silently latching onto the curtain and quietly capturing every movement inside the compartment.
Within seconds, several strands of pure white tentacles suddenly darted out from the fitting room, violently swatting down the secretly snooping black vines, relentlessly raining several punches on that section of the black vine, and finally striking a defiant pose in mid-air, triumphantly shaking it toward Kane’s direction—full of triumphant and flagrant provocation.
Kane chuckled in amusement, recalling the unresisting spiritual tentacles back to a safe distance, while quietly keeping track of Xavier’s aura.
When he turned back to look at Griffin, the smile on his face had already faded, replaced by his usual indifference.
“Valeri has gone to prepare the purification stones. Notify the manpower in the north to maintain strict vigilance and keep a close eye on all movements.”